U.S. retailers have long considered Black Friday the unofficial start of the critical holiday selling season, but newly released results from Nielsen’s Holiday Spending Forecast study indicate that 85% of consumers plan on skipping the stores the day after Thanksgiving this year. Instead, nearly half of consumers (46%) state that they will shop online this Cyber Monday, Dec. 2, compared with 30% in 2012, a significant increase.

Only 13% of respondents plan to shop in physical stores Black Friday, down from 17% in 2012. This is part of a four-year downward trend, where consumers report a declining interest in Black Friday shopping.

Unlike the overall holiday shopping season, where the retail battleground includes all channels, Black Friday is a focused in-store retail event. Consumers named department stores (71%) and electronics retailers (58%) as their top two choices for Black Friday holiday shopping this season.

Eighty-eight percent of consumers said they will use their computers again this year to do their Cyber Monday shopping. Shopping via mobile devices also will be something for retailers and advertisers to look forward to, as 37% of consumers plan to use tablets and 27% their cell phones to shop Cyber Monday. Once online, three-fourths of consumers will rely on store websites and word of mouth to get information on Cyber Monday deals, while 51% will turn to Cyber Monday deal sites.

Black Friday shopping seems to be merging with Cyber Monday as many consumers say they will do their Black Friday shopping online (51%). Once again, big-ticket gift items top lists this year, as shoppers seek “door-buster deals” on consumer electronics (70%) such as phones, computers, laptops, DVD players, TVs, iPads and e-readers; apparel (59%); and toys (46%).

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